Join Detective NJ and Detective Bean track and attempt to capture the notorious criminal Miss Nita Direction before she steals all 50 of the United States!

Monday, December 1, 2014

Moseying Through Missouri

It was nice to have a break – right? I mean, I adore the State Project as much as
the next girl, but I was glad to have a few days off to focus on family,
feasting, shopping and decorating (in no particular order, of course!) without
having to worry about imparting my plethora of (sometimes useless) facts and
datum on one of our nation’s fifty treasures.
(And DC
which we’re co-celebrating this week) So
now that’s out of my system I’m ready to jump back in with both feet and
celebrate a state we had to skip earlier in the summer. So if catenary arches, clanging trolleys, cakes that
can only be described as ‘gooey’,
iconic
American authors and ready mix
pancakes are your thing, you’re in luck – Missouri
has them all! We’re down to our last few
states, and I plan to do my best to show you the “Show Me State” this week if

After quite a big snit between the states of the fledgling
nation, a Compromise
was reached in 1820 and a year later Missouri became the 24th state
to join the Union. Today, St. Louis is
home to one of the most iconic National landmarks, The Gateway Arch. According to an early proposal, the
monument was to be built as “A suitable
and permanent public memorial to the men who made possible the western
territorial expansion of the United States, particularly President Jefferson,
his aides Livingston and Monroe, the great explorers, Lewis and Clark, and the
hardy hunters, trappers, frontiersmen and pioneers who contributed to the
territorial expansion and development of these United States, and thereby to
bring before the public of this and future generations the history of our
development and induce familiarity with the patriotic accomplishments of these
great builders of our country.” (http://webcitation.org/5wUnhhjCR) The Arch is 630
feet tall and spans 630 feet across (making it a catenary arch) and is made of
steel and concrete. Visitors can
ride to the top of the Arch
and (you probably wouldn’t want to climb the 1,076 stairs) and look out over
both Missouri and Illinois.

While in St. Louis touring the Arch you MUST make a stop at
The St.
Louis Bread Company as it exists ONLY in St. Louis. That’s right, because to all the rest of us,
it’s known as Panera Bread! The bakery-café actually traces its earliest
roots back to New York, where it was Au Bon Pain
Co., Inc. In 1993, Au Bon Pain
Co., Inc purchased Saint Louis Bread Company, a chain of 20 bakery-cafes
located in the St. Louis area. By 1997
the national potential of the chain was recognized and it was re-launched under
the name Panera Bread. The company is headquartered in Sunset Hills,
and continues to operate under the name “St. Louis Bread Company” only within
the St. Louis metropolitan area. My crew
LOVES Panera (I think the Dynamic Duo could live off their mac and cheese) and
I had fun chasing down some little known facts
about one of our favorite restaurants to share with them this week. (Including that my opinion of North Dakota
continued to plummet when I learned that it, along with four other states, have
no Panera’s!)

If we ever visit St. Louis
I’d say that there’s a pretty good chance that while the kids and I are
checking out the Arch and Panera, Grant will be off paying homage to Adolphus
Busch and Eberhard
Anheuser. In 1861, Busch married Anheuser’s daughter
and took on a role in his father-in-law’s brewing company, which he later
purchased half ownership of, making him a partner. The new company – Anheuser Busch! In 1876, Busch created an American-style
lager beer which he coined “Budweiser”
which eventually, became the company’s flagship brand. He was also
the first American brewer to usepasteurizationto keep beer fresh, mechanicalrefrigerationandrefrigerated
railroad cars and the first to bottle beer extensively. The
company is based in St. Louis and is the leading American brewer, holding a
47.6 percent share of U.S. beer sales to retailers. Quite a few different beers
actually are producer under the Anheuser
Busch label (which is now actually owned by InBev) including Bud Light,
Beck’s, Michelob, Rolling Rock, Stella Artois and Shock Top. Grant says if I promise to let him try all
the different beers produced by Anheuser Busch this week he’s totally up for
whatever we want to do for Missouri week otherwise!

And then I told him about the pancakes! In St. Joseph, in
1889, Chris Rutt and Charles Underwood of the Pearl
Milling Company developed Aunt Jemima,
the first ready mix sold commercially.
Quaker Oats later purchased Aunt Jemima
Mills Company in 1937 and
later added a line of syrup and frozen breakfast products as well. Nancy Green, a former slave, was hired to portray the Aunt
Jemima character from 1890 to her death in 1923. Green’s
amicable personality and talent as a cook helped establish a successful showing
of the product. Today the company has a product line that includes 5 different types of ready made
mix, 6 syrups and self-rising flour.

If beer and pancakes aren’t
your thing (and I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t love at least one of them)
how about an ice cream cone?
In 1904, to celebrate the 100 year
anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase, St. Louis played host to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as theSt. Louis World's Fair. (Kristi’s aside – FYI the Louisiana Purchase
was made in 1803. The fair was SUPPOSED
to have opened in 1903 but was delayed to allow for full-scale participation by
more states and foreign countries.)
Exhibits at The Fair were
staged by 62 foreign nations, the US government,
and 43 of the then-45U.S.
states featuring industries,
cities, private organizations and corporations, theater troupes, and music
schools. A whole lot of inventions (including the typewriter, electrical outlet
and what would become the fax machine) debuted during the Fair. It also gave birth (or at least notoriety) to
A LOT of food! While foods such as the hot dog, hamburger, iced tea, Dr. Pepper and cotton candy weren’t seen for the very first time at the
Fair, they all got a significant boost in mass appeal by being offered at the
Fair. The ice cream cone’s direct birth
at the Fair is more debatable
as there were 50
ice cream stands at the Fair and a large number of waffle shops, along with
several differing accounts as to the birth of the cone.

Something
not up for debate – the professional sports scene in Missouri. (You know I can’t NOT go there with my
crew.) We AL Central fans are of course
familiar with the Kansas City Royals and I lived in Peoria
long enough to become quite familiar with the National League’s St. Louis Cardinals. The St.
Louis Rams
and the Kansas City Chiefs are Missouri’s offering to the National
Football League and it’s the St. Louis Blues if hockey’s your thing.

If
you’d rather skip the sports scene but you love live entertainment, Branson’s for you. Dubbed “The Live Entertainment Capital of the
World”
hosts over seven million tourists annually who flock there to make use of its
four hundred lodging facilities, over two hundred
restaurants and nearly fifty theaters.
Located in the Ozark mountains, Branson prides
itself on having ‘family friendly’ entertainment (over 100
theater shows every day!)
ranging from shows, to shopping to golf to museums. I found all kinds of fun facts to
share with the Dynamic Duo about Branson, my favorite of which is that Branson
actually has more theater seats than the Broadway District in New York City!

Missouri is the
birthplace of one President – Harry S. Truman. Born in Lamar, Truman would become the nation’s 33rd
President upon the death of
Franklin D. Roosevelt. Most readily associated with Truman and
his presidency are his decision to drop an atomic bomb on
Japan, his policy of communist containment that perpetuated the Cold War, and
his initiation of U.S. involvement in the Korean War.

And I have quite the culinary adventure
in store this week. From BBQ to Chinese,
Missouri is known for all kinds of culinary classics. To kick us off tonight (and yes, gotta
complain, to make something we can eat in shifts since NJ has class, grumble
grumble grumble) I’m going with the St. Louis born dish, Toasted Ravioli. According to Encyclopedia
of American Food and Drink toasted ravioli
is “a St. Louis, Missouri, specialty of
meat-filled pasta dough that is deep-fried golden brown. Italian ravioli are
boiled and served with a sauce, but toasted ravioli was supposedly first made
in the 1930s at a St. Louis restaurant named Angelo Oldani's when a German
employee named Fritz accidentally threw freshly made ravioli into a pan of
boiling oil. Owner Oldani tried to salvage them, brushed them with grated
cheese, and served them to his customers, who loved them.” I knew this was a must dish this week that my
crew would love. (I’ve actually made
this before as March 20th is National Ravioli Day and this is how we
‘celebrated’ in 2013!) And it only
seemed logical to make ice cream
cones for dessert. Happy Gatchel crew all around to start off
Missouri this week!

I’ve got plenty planned for this week, as there’s no shortage of
fun when it comes to Missouri, I’ve found.
(Plus I’ve got to work some Washington D.C. in as well remember…) I’ve got a busy one tomorrow as it’s Pizza
Kit Delivery Day (oh joy) so a post may be late – but I promise to have it up
at some point! So until then…

1.Missouri
Fun Fact of the Day: The
'Show Me State' expression may have began in 1899 when Congressman Willard
Duncan Vandiver stated, "I'm from Missouri and you've got to show
me."

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WANTED!

Last Known Whereabouts: Lurking around Farmington Hills, Michigan, keeping an eye on her newly appointed trackers, Noah and Mikayla Gatchel

Feared Future Plans: Stealing each of the 50 U.S. states to put them under the direction of BAD

About Nita

Prior to her escape, MOMG had heard rumors of Nita’s plans to attempt to steal all fifty of the United States. Intelligence shows that Direction has long been planning her thieving scheme.

Direction is well known for her burglary and theft skills. She is a master of blending into her surroundings and familiarizing herself with her terrain and becoming a ‘local’. She is devoted to researching her target before striking and is known for her patience. She is not thought to be dangerous, simply sneaky. Citizens are asked not to attempt to make contact with Nita if spotted, she spooks easily and could be lost.

Burglars and Delinquents (BAD)

Nita is the boss of the crime syndicate BAD. The detectives should expect BAD to assist Nita in her plans.

Ministry of Modern Goodness (MOMG)

The Ministry is tasked with protecting all 50 of the United States. They are enlisting the help of the Gatchel Detectives to capture Miss Direction